Poor at higher risk of diabetes

Poor people are more than twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and three times more likely to develop serious complications, according to new research.

Now the authors of the report have called for action to tackle the social inequalities responsible for the imbalance.

The report, by the charity Diabetes UK and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Diabetes, found the poorest communities were 2.5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and 3.5 times more likely to develop serious complications of diabetes, like heart disease.

But the inequality didn’t end there. The report found that diabetics in poor areas were missing out on the health checks needed to prevent complications. This means they were less likely to have blood pressure or blood glocuse monitoring, checks for retinopathy, which can cause blindness, and neuropathy, which can lead to amputation.

By 2010, half of the estimated three million people with diabetes, will be from poor areas.

In disadvantaged areas, obesity is almost 50 per cent higher in women and people were 50 per cent more likely to smoke. Both are major risk factors for the disease. This, combined with poor healthcare, meant there was a burgeoning ‘forgotten generation’ who faced a future of poor health, said the report.

The report also found there was 45 per cent more diabetes among women in the North East of England and 28 per cent more in men. One in five people with a severe mental illness had diabetes, while prevalence in nursing homes was more than eight times higher than in the general population.

People from black and minority ethnic groups were up to six times more likely to develop diabetes.

The authors said their findings pointed to a bleak future for people in deprived communities. They also questioned the government’s focus on helping people self-manage their condition where there are barriers to accessing care.